THE LADY BEHIND THE LONGHORNS: SIENNA DEL CONTE

Have you fallen in love with the new Longhorn Collection? Well, there’s a lovely and talented woman – who was once a Longhorn herself, the University of Texas kind – behind all the beautiful artwork featured on it.

While now formally trained (a BFA degree from UT and post-grad studies at an art school in Los Angeles), Sienna Del Conte has had an inherent affinity for art since birth.

“My love for art has been there since the day I came out,” Sienna laughed. “I was holding a pencil, I'm pretty sure.”

In her youth, the family moved around a bit because of her parents’ jobs (you might recognize the last name, her dad is UT Athletic Director Chris Del Conte), but most of her life has been spent in Texas. When she moved to Fort Worth in the 3rd grade, a new passion and subject of her art emerged.

“We moved to Fort Worth, and it was Cowtown central,” she recalled. “All of my friends have ranches and horses, and I come home the first day of 3rd grade, and I say, ‘Mom, where's our ranch?’ And she laughed and was like, ‘Ok, brat.’ But that was what started my fascination and love for all things Western – horses, landscapes, all of it was fascinating to me at a young age.”

The collaboration with Double D Ranch came to her almost as naturally as her love for art.

“Well, this is how I remember it,” Sienna said. “They were hosting a pop-up shopping experience at my mom’s house, and I walked in wearing overalls covered in paint, which I think piqued the curiosity of the sisters, and they were like, ‘What do you do?’ So I explained to them what I do and showed them some of my work, and it all just came about so effortlessly.”

For Sienna, the decision to work together was an easy ‘yes’.

“They asked if I would like some of my work on their clothes,” she recalled. “And I was like, ‘Well, yeah!’ And so my boss, Al Marco – he’s kick ass – and I chose some works that we were comfortable and felt confident enough sending out into the world, and then Double D it and ran with it. That’s their genius, I can’t take an ounce of credit for the beauty they created with it.”

Respectfully, we disagree – Sienna can certainly take credit for some of the stunning pieces in the Longhorn Collection. You can spot her work on the Head On Vest, the Getting Closer Poncho, all the Drove pieces (the Trucker, the top, and the scarf), and the fan-favorite Ganado Orejano Dress and Top.

“The [Ganado Orejano] dress and matching blouse, that was actually a painting I had created and sold to a hotel in Austin,” Sienna explained. “So, there will be a select group of people that are going to put those dots together, and have seen the original, and then on fabric in different spaces – I think that'll be a really cool crossover.”

As for Sienna’s personal pick?

“For me, I think the [Ganado Orejano] dress is my favorite,” she said. “If I’m not in overalls, I’m in a dress. And it has pockets!”

Who doesn’t love a dress with pockets?!

At the end of every interview, we like to ask the person if they have a mantra or life motto they try to live by. For some, they have to think on it; for others, it rolls right off their tongue. Sienna was the latter, and it’s pretty beautiful.

“Luckily, that’s an easy question for me,” she beamed. “It's our family motto. My grandfather told this to my dad and my dad has it framed in his office, it’s something we’ve all memorized: God's gift to me is my potential, what I do with my potential is my gift to Him.”

Well, kid, from where we sit, it seems like you’re honoring your dad, your grandfather, and God wonderfully with your gift. We are eager to watch your potential continue to unfold as you keep creating masterpieces and putting beauty out into the world.

We encourage you to check out more of Sienna’s stunning work at SiennaDelConteArt.com!